Our History

The BC Sports Hall of Fame was founded in 1966 by the late Eric Whitehead and a group of sport minded individuals. Their goal was to establish a permanent tribute honouring BC’s outstanding athletes, teams and builders of sport.

May 31, 1966 – The BC Sports Hall of Fame is incorporated as a Society under the Province of British Columbia’s Societies Act.

August 23, 1966 – The BC Sports Hall of Fame officially opens, located in the BC Pavilion on the Pacific National Exhibition grounds. The Hall is established by a grant from the British Columbia Centennial Sports Committee. An initial induction of 34 BC athletes into the Hall of Fame occurs. A yearly nomination process inducts a maximum of 5 athletes or builders from this point on.

April 1968 – The 1st annual BC Sports Hall of Fame Banquet of Champions is held.

October 1971 – The BC Sports Hall of Fame officially opens its new quarters on the PNE grounds.

January 24, 1971 – The BC Sports Hall of Fame officially changes its name to the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame and Museum under the Societies Act.

May 1977 – The BC Sports Hall of Fame institutes the induction of outstanding British Columbian teams for the first time with an initial induction of 5 BC teams in both 1977 and 1978.

November 1980 – The ‘Neglected Heritage’ school program established.

1981 – The “C.H. (Chuck) Wills Memorial Library,” a new research and resource library is created.

May 1981 – An award honouring BC Premier W.A.C. Bennett is established, known as the “W.A.C. Bennett Award,” and is awarded to outstanding individuals who have made a significant contribution to sport in British Columbia, but who would not otherwise qualify for induction into the Hall of Fame. The late Terry Fox is the inaugural winner of this prestigious honour.

July 1990 – Construction begins on new BC Sports Hall of Fame to be located in BC Place Stadium.

1991 – 25th anniversary of the establishment of the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

May 1992 – Official Dedication of the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum’s new 20,000 square foot facility at BC Place Stadium.

May 1993 – The 25th annual Banquet of Champions is held at the Hotel Vancouver, where the late Eric Whitehead (1915-1993) is honoured for his work in establishing the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 1966.

May 1994 – The Jack Farley Youth Sports Achievement Awards are awarded for the first time at the annual Banquet of Champions. Two annual scholarships of $1500 are awarded to amateur athletes looking to pursue post-secondary education in BC.

October 1995 – Twelve new chronological sport history galleries officially open, outlining BC’s sporting past decade by decade from the 1860’s to the 1990’s.

April 1998 – Media members are eligible for induction into the BC Sports Hall of Fame for the first time. In addition, the new ‘Pioneer’ category is created honouring BC’s early contributors to sport.

May 2006 – 40th anniversary of the BC Sports Hall of Fame. First annual Honoured Members Luncheon takes place at the BC Sports Hall of Fame. Including the 2006 induction class, a total of 275 individuals and 47 teams have been inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

January 2007 – The new Greg Moore Gallery, celebrating the career and life of racing driver Greg Moore, opens to the public.

March 2007 – The new In Her Footsteps: Celebrating BC Women in Sport Gallery opens to the public.

May 2008 – The new Aboriginal Sports Gallery opens to the public.

June 2008 – Vancouver 2010 display opens to the public.

May 2009 – First annual “Inspiring the Future” event is held in conjunction with Honoured Members Luncheon. The event embraces the Jack Farley Award Scholarship and Karen Magnussen Foundation bursary presentations.

January 2010 – “Go Canucks Go” special exhibition opens to the public.

February 2010 – BC Sports Hall of Fame welcomes the world for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

April 2010 – BC Sports Hall of Fame closes to the public while BC Place Stadium roof work begins. BC Sports Hall of Fame launches BC Sports Hall of Fame community experience, taking portions of the Hall’s artifact collection ‘on the road’ around the province.

March 2014 – “Sun Run Stories: 30 Years Running” exhibition opens to the public in the Special Exhibition Gallery.

July 2014 – New Signature Exhibition Gallery featuring “A Week You’ll Remember a Lifetime” celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games opens to the public. Thirty 1954 Games athletes attend the exhibition opening which doubles as a reunion.

March 2015 – “Sports Art” and “Anniversaries” dual exhibitions open simultaneously to the public in the Special Exhibition Gallery.

July 2015 – New incarnation of the In Her Footsteps: Celebrating BC Women in Sport gallery opens to the public.

August 2015 – “PANAMANIA: BC at the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games” exhibition opens to the public in the Special Exhibition Gallery.

November 2015 – The existing Builder category is modified to provide more recognition to coaches with a new name of ‘Builder-Coach’ and increasing the maximum number of inductees annually recognized in this category to three.

2016 – The BC Sports Hall of Fame celebrates its 50th Anniversary! Anniversary events and initiatives are held throughout the year to mark the occasion including a 50th anniversary birthday party at the PNE Fair, completing 50 Hero in You presentations to schools around BC, attending 50 community outreach events around BC, and The Miracle Mile book launch. A key legacy of the 50th Anniversary was the First 50 Fund, a successful fundraising campaign which had 50 donors giving $5,000 to the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

March 2016 – “Ruck ‘n’ Roll: The Smashing Rugby Exhibit” opens to the public in the Special Exhibition Gallery.

June 2016 – The months-long 50 Golden Moments campaign, which featured the 50 biggest moments in BC sports history as voted on by the public, comes to a conclusion at the annual Banquet of Champions induction gala dinner, with Terry Fox’s 1980 Marathon of Hope crowned BC’s biggest sports moment.

April 2017 – The 49th annual Banquet of Champions induction gala dinner is held at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Including the 2017 induction class, a total of 385 individuals and 60 teams have been inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

April 2017 – The BC Sports Hall of Fame hosts the Canadian Association of Sport Heritage (CASH) national conference.

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of ViaSport and the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development.